I would like to welcome everyone to the 2015 Drumbo Fair as we celebrate its 165^th year.

I am thankful to have been the Ambassador of the Drumbo Fair for this year as it has given me a new perspective on the aspects of growing up in a rural community. There is a sense of belonging and home that becomes a part of your identity when you live in a village like Drumbo, one that you carry when you journey to other places.

Over the year, which started for me at the 2014 Harvest Carnival, carried into the 2014 Drumbo Fair in September and the OAAS Convention in Toronto in February, I have also realized that Drumbo offers its children opportunities that they don’t receive in urban areas like Toronto, or even towns that also participate in the Ambassador program. One such advantage is a more personal connection to fellow teachers and students in elementary school. I believe that I would not be where I am today, about to enter into a Master’s program, if I hadn’t been raised in this village where teachers can give that one-one focus to their students and encourage them to strive for academic excellence.

I also possibly wouldn’t know where the food in the grocery store comes from if it hadn’t been for the strong farming community of Drumbo. So I hope you all get a chance to come out to the 2015 Drumbo Fair, where we continue to foster this community.

I wish the very best to the incoming Fair Ambassador and hope that they have a chance to gain a new perspective while representing Drumbo!